Memphis Depay

PSV Eindhoven

Memphis impressed football scouts from Sparta Rotterdam at the age of eight on the fields of his boyhood club Moordrecht. It took only three seasons before scouts from Sparta snatched Memphis from his local club. Club chairman Ton Redegeld said, "Memphis was as a young player already complete. He was two-footed and strong. If we won 7–0, he scored five times and would assist two times". When he turned 12, Memphis caught the eye of clubs such as Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord. His grandfather, despite being an Ajax fan himself, advised Memphis to move to PSV.

2011–13: Beginnings

In 2011, Memphis was on trial for PSV's first team while playing for Jong PSV, the club's reserve team. He made his official debut on 21 September 2011 in a KNVB Cup second round match against amateur side VVSB, opening an 8–0 away win. His first Eredivisie match was 26 February 2012, when PSV beat rivals Feyenoord 3–2 at the Philips Stadion, coming on in added time for Zakaria Labyad. On 18 March, six minutes after replacing Dries Mertens, he scored his first league goal to confirm a 5–1 win over Heerenveen. He made a total of eight league appearances in his first season, all as a substitute, scoring three goals. Memphis featured in the 2012 KNVB Cup Final on 8 April, playing the final four minutes of the 3–0 win over Heracles in place of Mertens at De Kuip in Rotterdam under interim coach Phillip Cocu. On 29 June, Memphis signed his first professional contract…

Youth

Memphis played youth international football for the Netherlands at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels. He was a member of the under-17 team which won the 2011 European Championship in Serbia. In the final against Germany in Novi Sad, he scored the goal which put the Netherlands ahead as they came from behind to defeat their rivals 5–2. Later that year, he participated in the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Mexico.

Senior

Memphis made his international debut on 15 October 2013, coming on for Jeremain Lens in the last minute of a 2–0 away win against Turkey at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in World Cup qualification. Memphis was selected by Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal in the final 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He came on as a substitute before the half-time whistle in the second group match against Australia to replace defender Bruno Martins Indi, who had sustained a head injury, and in the 68th minute he scored the winning goal, a swerving effort from outside the box. He also set up Robin van Persie's equaliser. He became the youngest Dutchman to score a goal at the World Cup, at the age of 20 years and four months. He came on as a substitute again in the final group match against Chile on 23 June in São Paulo and scored the second goal for the Dutch, tapping in an Arjen Robben cross, as they clinched first place with a 2–0 victory.

On 11 July, Memphis was named on the three-man shortlist for the…

Early in his career, a PSV coach noted Memphis as "very angry", and he now uses a life coach to aid his mentality. In April 2015, The Daily Telegraph described Memphis as "a fearsome striker of the ball with his right foot but is usually used as an inverted left winger who cuts onto his right foot. A pacey and tricky player, his direct running makes him a difficult opponent for defenders". However, they criticised him as "a ball-hog", pointing out his high rate of shots in comparison to a low rate of assists. Memphis is also known for his free-kick ability. During the 2014–15 season, he was statistically the best set-piece taker in the whole of Europe, as he scored 7 times in 33 attempts, the most in all European leagues and the second-best accuracy. Former Dutch international and Dutch national team manager Ronald Koeman regards Memphis as "a great talent", but says that he must continue his personal development due to the physicality and mental strength needed in the Premier League. Former Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth defender Arjan de Zeeuw stated about Memphis: "People regard him as a little bit arrogant, a little bit cocky, but I think he is a very good player, a very promising player, a very strong, very quick player and he's got some skill." Memphis has been compared to former Manchester United player Cristiano Ronaldo and fellow international Arjen Robben. Thijs Slegers said about the comparisons: "Memphis is a little bit like Cristiano; they have similar qualities,…

Memphis Depay was born in the small South Holland village of Moordrecht to a Ghanaian father, Dennis Depay, and a Dutch mother, Cora Schensema. It was not long, however, before the relationship between the two parents began to fall apart and when Memphis was four, his father walked out on the family. Since 2012, Memphis has dropped his last name to sever ties with his father: as he has remarked earlier, "Do not call me Depay, call me Memphis."